Nebmaatre was the prenomen of a poorly attested ruler of the late Second Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt. Nebmaatre may have been a member of the early 17th Dynasty and, as such, would have reigned over the Theban region. Alternatively, Jürgen von Beckerath believes that Nebmaatre was a ruler of the late 16th Dynasty.
Attestations
The prenomen Nebmaatre is attested on a bronze axe-head discovered in a tomb at Mostagedda in Middle Egypt and now in the British Museum under the catalogue number BM EA 63224. The same prenomen is inscribed on a black steatite amulet representing a lion of unknown provenance and is now in the Petrie Museum under catalogue number 11587. A degree of uncertainty affects the ownership of these artefacts since Amenhotep III’s prenomen was Nebmaatre. However, the axe-head can be dated to the late Second Intermediate Period based on stylistic grounds and provenance. According to Flinders Petrie, the amulet is too rough an artistry to be attributable to Amenhotep III. Instead, Petrie suggested that the amulet be attributable to Ibi, an obscure ruler of the late 13th Dynasty whose prenomen is partially preserved in the Turin canon as “[…]maatre”. However, Kim Ryholt’s recent study of the Turin canon precludes this identification as a vertical stroke in the lacuna just before “Maatre” rules out the hieroglyph for “neb”.
Chronological position
The chronological position of Nebmaatre in the Second Intermediate Period is highly uncertain. The Egyptologist Jürgen von Beckerath proposes that Nebmaatre was a ruler of a compounded 15th–16th Dynasty, which he sees as an entirely Hyksos line of kings. Alternatively, Kim Ryholt put forth the hypothesis that Nebmaatre was a king of the 17th Dynasty, although he left his position in the Dynasty unspecified. Ryholt’s datation is based on the observation that the axe-head bearing Nebmaatre’s name was found in a tomb belonging to the Pan-grave culture. The Pan-grave people were Nubian mercenaries employed by rulers of the 17th Dynasty in their fight against the Hyksos foe. Egyptologist Darrell Baker points out that the Theban rulers of the period might have provided such weapons to their mercenaries.
